Weight: Lost 10.8 lbs

Body Fat %: Lost 4.1%

Muscle: Gained 2%

I may not be breaking any speed records for weight loss, but for the first time in more than a decade, my weight is consistently going in the right direction. I now have hope that it is possible to get back to that pre-baby, pre-career, pre-adulthood-responsibility weight!

This has been a totally fun adventure – I always thought that I hated to cook but what I really hated was spending hours in the kitchen making food that made me feel like crap! I love trying new healthy meals that take less than 20 minutes to prepare and even enjoy trying some that take longer.

While I’ve read pretty much every book on the topic at this point… Mark Sisson’s book “The Primal Blueprint” is the easiest to follow and to implement – some of the others are way too detailed and strict about what you can or cannot eat – I’m trying to simplify my life, not make it more complicated!

If you want ALL the details, I love Ori Hofmekler and Gary Taubes! If you just want to get started, then Mark Sisson’s stuff is awesome. His blog http://www.MarksDailyApply.com is one of the few that I actually read on a regular basis.

Another thing that Dan & I have been doing is much shorter, more intense workouts – instead of working out 45 minutes to 1.5 hours 5-6 times per week, we’re working out 20 – 35 minutes 4-5 times per week. Check out “You Are Your Own Gym” (http://www.marklauren.com)- I love this workout! All of the exercises can be done with stuff you have around the house and there’s a totally awesome iPhone app. I do confess that we recently bought a TRX – makes a lot of the “Pull” exercises easier…

The gains that we’ve seen in both strength and muscle tone over the last few months is incredible and it still fits easily into our crazy busy schedule.

—–

Hi Mike, thanks for all the tips on getting a six pack. I just subscribed, but I’ve been trying to get six pack abs for over two years now.

To be honest, it’s been extremely frustrating. The rest of my body I don’t have any problem with…but for some reason my abs are still soft and flabby no matter what I do. I’m not obese or anything, but nobody would ever say I have a six pack either which is what I want.

I’m doing hardcore workouts all the time and I’m keeping my eating fairly clean. I haven’t bought any courses on how to get a six pack yet, but I’ve studied a ton of information which I’ve gotten for free on blogs and forums. I feel like I’ve put so much work into this. But for some reason I’m not seeing results. I’m beginning to think my genetics are such that six pack abs are just not in the cards for me.

Am I doing something wrong? HELP!

Andrew E.

—–

Hey Andrew,

You’re actually facing three VERY common issues that sabotage guys from getting six pack abs. I’m going to clear up the confusion for you…

And if YOU are reading this right now, and you’ve been trying to get a six pack but not seeing results, you’re likely GETTING SABOTAGED BY THE SAME THREE THINGS. Make sure to pay close attention to this newsletter, because it’s going to address what’s been holding YOU back specifically and show you how to eliminate these “six pack sabotagers” from your life.

SABOTEUR #1: YOUR METABOLISM

What you said:

“The rest of my body I don’t have any problem with…but for some reason my abs are soft and flabby no matter what I do.”

What this tells me:

From the vague way you described your body, I can tell that you have not yet gained a large amount of muscle. Because I’ve spent most of my life hanging around guys who HAVE…and let me tell you, they’ll never describe their body in vague terms like this.

Guys who have bulked up and have built a lot of muscle will be EAGER to provide you with specifics like:

“I’ve gained X pounds of muscle in the past year.”

“I have a muscular build – I regularly get compliments on the rest of my body from women”

“I can eat 3000 calories per day and not gain any weight.”

So I’m going to guess that while you’re in shape, you’re not exactly “muscular” yet.

So here’s what’s been sabotaging you…

There is a myth spread by fitness marketers that you can get six pack abs just through diet and ab training alone. This is 100% FALSE.

If you just try the “crunches and diet’ method of getting a six pack, you’re sure to fail. This is because getting six pack abs requires you to become very LEAN – otherwise your abs simply won’t be visible.

In order to get this lean, your metabolism needs to be very high. Otherwise, you’ll have to severely restrict the amount you eat to 1500 calories per day or less – which just isn’t realistic for most people to do as a lifestyle.

What you need to do BEFORE you diet, and BEFORE you do any direct ab exercise is to INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM.

This way, you burn massive amounts even when you’re resting. Eventually, you’ll be able to eat over 3000 calories per day and not gain any weight (this is where I’m at right now).

The best way to increase your metabolism is to gain lean muscle mass through weightlifting. This lean muscle mass will consume calories day in and day out, just to sustain itself.

This is why you RARELY see six pack abs on guys who don’t have muscle on their entire body – and when you do they don’t look good. If you don’t have bulk on your ENTIRE BODY, getting six pack requires you stay close to a starvation diet. But if you are muscular, you can enjoy food and be constantly full, yet still have a six pack.

TAKEAWAY –> The FIRST thing you need to do when building six pack abs is to INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM THROUGH TOTAL BODY MUSCLE GAIN. This can be done quickly if you want to – but if you don’t do it AT ALL, your six pack efforts are doomed.

SABOTEUR #2: NO UNIFIED TRAINING AND NUTRITION PROGRAM

What you said:

“I’m doing hardcore workouts all the time and I’m keeping my eating fairly clean. I haven’t bought any courses on how to get a six pack yet, but I’ve studied a ton of information which I’ve gotten for free on blogs and forums.”

What this tells me:

SOME free information can be great. If you’re applying the stuff you read here, that’s great. If you’re applying free stuff from another qualified trainer with a good reputation, that’s great as well.

But you have to realize, MOST of the free information out there on blogs and forums is complete garbage. Following random tips that you read from the internet can SERIOUSLY screw up your progress.

If you’re serious about getting a six pack, then you can only take advice from:

1. Guys who have a six pack themselves (this should be common sense…but sadly, it’s not)

2. Who ALSO have years of training experience, and a solid track record of getting results for clients

You cannot, cannot, cannot follow any random thing you read on a forum. You have to realize that most people who post on these forums are overweight losers who enjoy the ego boost of being an “online fitness guru.” They’ve can’t even get themselves in shape, never mind anyone else.

Also – from your vague language about “hardcore workouts” and “eating clean” I can tell that you do not have a single, unified program you are following right now. You are combining tips and advice from many different sources together.

This is a bad idea, EVEN IF ALL THE INDIVIDUAL TIPS THEMSELVES ARE GOOD. Here’s why:

First of all, unless they’re part of a unified SYSTEM, many of these tips probably contradict one another. Some “fitness experts” say that you should eat tons or protein to get a six pack, others advise eating very little. Some experts say that you should do lots of crunches, and others say that crunches are a waste of time. Some tell you to take certain supplements, others tell you that you absolutely cannot take supplements if you want a six pack.

If you just try and collage all these contradictory tips together, you’ll just end up confused.

Second of all, if you do not have a SPECIFIC EXERCISE PLAN and SPECIFIC EATING PLAN, you will not be doing these things with any consistency. Guys who have a six pack will often say things like:

“My workout routine is to get at 10:30 AM, for 30 minutes 5 days a week.”

“My eating plan is to have two healthy meals of brown rice, chicken and broccoli per day, and to give myself one ‘free’ meal”

TAKEAWAY –> If you can’t tell me SPECIFCIALLY what your eating and exercise plan is in one sentence, then you don’t have one. And I can guarantee you that if you have no plan, you are not working out or eating right CONSISTENTLY. You absolutely, positively MUST be following a definite plan if you want to get six pack abs.

SABOTEUR #3: DEFEATIST ATTITUDE

You said:

“I’m beginning to think my genetics are such that six pack abs are just not in the cards for me.”

What this tells me:

I get it…I don’t have the greatest genetics in the world either. And I recognize your genetics CAN play a part in getting your six pack…

But the reality is, for 99% of the male population six pack abs are VERY ATTAINABLE GOAL…IF you are consistently eating and training the right way.

How do I know? Well, despite bad genetics I eventually got six pack abs myself. And I’ve trained hundreds of guys who have every genetic handicap you can imagine, and I’ve seen many of them get the six pack abs they wanted.

If you blame 100% of your failure on genetics, you’re grossly out of touch with reality. I know it’s tough to hear, but it’s really just an excuse you’re using to justify your lack of results.

And even worse, you said that a six pack “wasn’t in the cards,” for you. This type of defeatist attitude is absolute POISON for getting six pack abs, and will keep your gut hanging over your belt for a long, long time.

I’ve said it for a long time…getting six packs abs is only 50% physical, and 50% MENTAL.

You need to have your mind right, because getting six pack abs does take some commitment and effort. You’ll face various obstacles along the way, as well as having to deal with jealousy and lack of support from your friends who aren’t as committed to having a great body as you.

The only way to press through these obstacles is to have a strong, unwavering belief that you WILL get a six pack if you are consistently eating and training right. Even when it seems hard, and even when you’re frustrated.

You need to shed this defeatist attitude ASAP in order to get six pack abs. You have to realize that there are no “cards” – there is only what you accomplish, and what you do not accomplish. It is 100% within your power to get six pack abs. If you don’t get them, you have nobody but yourself to blame. And if you DO get them, you’ll have only yourself to thank. Not your lucky stars, not “fate,” and definitely not “the cards.”

TAKEAWAY –> I’m not judging you for making these mistakes, because I made them all myself at one point. But I do want you to know that there is hope — that you can get a six pack. You just have to shed the defeatist attitude, and learn how to THINK like a guy who has a six pack.

THE NEXT STEP:

If you liked this article and you’re serious about getting six pack abs, I recommend you sign up for my email newsletter. I send out free articles like this one every 2-3 days that teach you exactly how to get six pack abs. I also send out videos of the best exercises for getting defined abs, and videos that show you how to eat for six pack abs.

And it’s all completely free. Check it out here:

<a href=”http://www.sixpackshortcuts.com”>Six Pack Abs Exercises</a>

Mike Chang

But there’s good news – this is probably just because you’re making one of a few common mistakes guys make when trying to get ab definition. If you can just avoid these common errors, you’ll see much more success in your quest to get a six pack.

So, here are the 10 most dangerous mistakes men make when it comes to getting six pack abs. If you make these 10 mistakes it’ll be incredibly hard and frustrating to get abs, and you probably will never get them at all. If you do learn these mistakes getting abs will be much easier, and you’ll start seeing abdominal definition more quickly than you could imagine.

Mistake #1 – Doing Sit Ups And Crunches To Get A Six-Pack

The biggest mistake that I see in almost every gym I’ve been to is watching people do endless ab exercises one after another in hopes of getting a flatter stomach. Ab exercises only build the ab muscles but don’t get rid of fat that’s covering it. We all have abdominal muscles, if we didn’t our bodies would go limp without its support. In fact, doing too many ab exercises actually has a negative effect when it comes to slimming your waistline.

When you do a lot of resistance exercises for your arms they get bigger right? Well guess what, if you do that for your abs they will respond the same way. When you work on your abs too much, the muscle gets really big and bulgy and actually makes your waist bigger. Now you have a bigger waistline than when you first started because of the larger ab muscles, plus the fat is still there covering any visibility of a six-pack.

The only way to get rid of fat on our stomach is to allow our body to convert it into energy and use it. Doing crunches and sit ups is not intense enough for our bodies to have to break down fat because the abdominal muscle so small compared to using a larger muscle group like our legs. You need concentrate on burning the fat before you start building up abdominal muscle – otherwise you’re just bulking up your beer gut.

Mistake# 2 – Doing Cardio

Cardio only burns calories when you’re doing it, is doesn’t burn when your heart rate is not elevated. Think about the last time you did any type of cardio exercise. Your heart rate and body temperature was increase and when stopped they went back to normal.

Even if you did cardio 30 min a day 7 days a week, there’s 24 hours in a day so what are you burning the other 23.5 hours? Not much, because if it was a lot, you would be lean by now. Throughout the remainder of the day its then up to our natural metabolism to burn the rest of the calories. And doing cardio all day long doesn’t seem like a very reasonable solution either.

Can you think of the last time YOU did cardio? Did you get a six-pack? Did your stomach at least get a little flatter? Probably not. If it did, it’s not flat anymore isn’t it? The cold hard truth is that long cardio workouts are completely ineffective for burning fat, and for getting a six pack. If you’re spending long hours on the elliptical, treadmill or bike, you’re completely wasting your time if your goal is to get hard, defined abs.

Mistake # 3 - Diets

Think of all the people you know who got on a diet, how many of them actually stayed on it. Losing weight and having a lean healthy body is a lifestyle change and unfortunetly, when you ask someone to change their habits of eating that they been doing all their life, that’s almost like asking someone to change their personality permanently. Sure, you can pretend for a short period, but you will always go back to being you.

Most diets now are so low in carbohydrates; it’s likely the initial weight loss is primarily water weight, as carbohydrate encourages your body to hold water. As soon as you go back to a normal amount of carbs, the water weight comes back and the weight goes back to normal. No real fat was really loss.

There is no point in “going on a diet,” or temporarily changing your eating habits. Because as soon as you change them back, you’ll gain back all the fat you lost – and then some more on top of that.

Mistake # 4 – Using Fat Burning Supplements, Diet Pills, And Other Drugs To Burn Off Fat

You can’t get in shape through supplements alone. All fat burning drugs do is first suppress your appetite so you don’t feel the need to eat as much. Now your body doesn’t have the nutrients to give you energy. But wait! The fat burners are also filled with other stimulants so your energy level doesn’t go down. So what that does is decrease your natural metabolism (which is what your body does to burn calories) and increase your fat storage because your body will now go into “survival mode”

• Your body will lower its calorie burning because it’s not getting enough of it.

• Your body will hold on to your fat and not use it as energy because fat is your most valuable energy source in your body and in survival mode; it will do the smartest thing to survive.

• Your body will also break down muscle tissue as fuel causing your metabolism to lower even more.

• Once you stop taking the supplement, your food intake goes back to normal causing you to gain all the weight you loss plus more. The reason why you gain more than you started is your metabolism is now lower than when you first started due to the loss of muscle.

This is why most guys who ACTUALLY have a six pack take very few supplements, or no supplements at all.

Mistake # 5 - Getting Advice From People Who Never Had Flat Abs

Think about the last time you at the gym or at some sort of gathering and you received advice on how to lose your gut. People tend to consider themselves experts at something after only doing it once or twice. When it comes to losing body fat and getting six-pack it get even worse. You will notice a lot of times the people giving advice on how to get lean or ripped are either genetically very lean their whole life and never had a problem with excess body fat or an overweight guy who use to weigh 300lbs and is now 200lbs and still has a gut but giving advice on how to lose belly fat.

First, the skinny lean guy: Naturally lean all his life, can eat whatever he wants and always seems to have a six pack no matter what. He is genetically build that way and really has no idea how it’s like to have a gut nevertheless teach someone how to lose it. It’s like asking a rich kid who never had to work a day in his life how to make money in the real world.

Second, the fat guy who loss some weight and is now an fat loss expert:

When your 40 – 100 lbs over weight, you can walk in a circle in place for an hour and lose weight. Cut out a couple sodas or snacks a day and their goes 10lbs. But if you ask him if he ever had six-pack, the answer is always no. The lower the body fat, the harder it is to get leaner. Someone who is 40 – 100lbs overweight can lose very easily, but someone who is 10 – 15lbs away from having a six-pack can spend 6 months and not see any changes.

Mistake: # 6 - Being A Gym Rat

People who goes to the gym 6-7 days a week, or spends 2 to 3 hours at the gym, or the twice a day members. More is not always better. You’ve heard the term before, “TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING IS BAD ALSO!” Working out that much causes overtraining and will break down your muscles rather than build. It doesn’t give the muscles enough rest to recuperate and rebuild. Imagine a football player having to play 10 straight football games back to back everyday. Every game he is a little more fatigue than the last and his performance gets worse and worse. Give him a week to recover between games and he will play at his best.

Mistake#7 – Wasting money on AB Gimmicks

These machines only work on your abs, and nothing more. You’re only burning a little bit of calories because the abs is such a small muscle group and doesn’t require much energy to contract.

It’s all marketing. Hire a fitness model to be your front cover and make a couple of DVDs on how to use the machine. Then pay some people to do your testimonials and you have a new AB product.

Just like a get rich quick scheme. But this is a get lean and rip quick scheme. Think of about it, everybody has tried some get rich scheme one time or another. Did it work? Was it as easy as step 1, 2, 3?

When it comes to abs machines nobody ever got in shape using just the machines. They fail to mention the part “ in addition to low calorie diet and exercise regimen”

Mistake# 8 – Lack Of Sleep

Sleeping affects us more than what you think. When we go to bed, our bodies replenish and rebuild physically and mentally from the wear and tear throughout the day. Today’s norm of staying up past our bed times due to computers, cell phones, 24 – hour cable has made our bodies fatigue, reduced health, and even weight increase.

Grehlin and Leptin are hormones in our body that control appetite and weight gain or loss. Leptin suppresses our appetite while grehlin increases it. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, grehlin levels increase while leptin level decreases which means not getting enough sleep could be one of the reasons why many overeat and have weight issues. Ever experienced a sleepless night followed by a day when no matter what you ate you never felt full or satisfied? If so, then you have experienced the workings of leptin and grehlin.

When lack of sleep becomes a chronic problem, levels of grehlin increases, causing greater appetite, and levels of leptin decrease. Regardless of diet and exercise, it’s possible that some obesity is caused, or made worse, by sleep deprivation.

In fact, have you ever experienced a sleepless night followed by a day when no matter what you ate you never felt full or satisfied? If so, then you have experienced the workings of leptin and grehlin.

Mistake # 9: Doing Isolation Workouts To Rid Of Specific Fatty Areas

Your body fat is spread out thru out your body. When you gain weight, you gain it everywhere, not just in one place. So why would you try to get rid of it just in one place? A lot of guys always tell me their ok with their legs, just need to get rid of some fat around the chest and stomach area.

Your fat doesn’t go, “ hey let’s all jump on your chest today and tomorrow, we’ll go fatten up the gut area!”

So when you’re attacking the fat, which is your goal and to get a six pack you must attack it from your whole body. Instead of doing exercises like bench presses or curls you need to do functional multi body group exercises to increase more cal burning in your body so your body will be forced to utilize fat as the energy source.

This doesn’t mean you do the same isolation workouts but just all in one day, because your still only using 1 to 3 muscle groups in every individual workout instead of using your entire body. Increase the calorie burning and your fat will melt away.

Mistake# 10 – Not Getting The Right Help

This is by far the biggest mistake of all that will keep most guys from ever getting the body they truly want. I know most guys don’t like to admit that they are tired and fed up with having a gut. They usually act like its not a big deal, play it off real cool by making jokes like “ I have a 1 pack instead of a six pack” but deep down inside all guys would like to have a lean, chiseled midsection if they knew how to get it.

Trust me, I been there myself. I know exactly how its like to be embarrassed to take off my shirt when there are girls around wondering if I had a nice body and my shirt was the only illusion I had.

About 6 years ago I decided I was going to get a six-pack no matter what it took. I was at a party one night and as everyone was drinking and having a good time, this girl went up to this guy, whispered something in his ear and lifted up his shirt and holy crap, this guy had some of the baddest looking abs I have ever seen in my life. I swore his midsection looked like one of the super heroes out of a comic book. Seconds later all her friends flocked over to him and begin to flirt while they groped over his stomach. Right then I knew what ever I had to do, I was going to get me a six pack because I wanted the attention, the girls, the confidence, just the whole looking and feeling physically strong and athletic.

The last 6 years, I tried everything from crazy diets I read about to working out twice a day for 3 months straight and after years and years of trial and error I finally figured out exactly what to do to get a six-pack and maintain it. Since then, I trained and helped hundreds of guys get the body they want by showing them how to train, how to eat and some of the best shortcuts and tips I learned. Now I enjoy my life more than ever because I feel so confident, my clothes fits good, I don’t have anything to hide. I now became That GUY the one girls would grope on and go OMG for and you know what, it feels great!

If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably thinking…is it worth it? Let me tell you it’s worth every second to have this great feeling. Since then I’ve helped others do the same. I send out weekly newsletters on tips and step-by-step articles on what it takes to get a six-pack, from what to do first to get started to what to expect along the way and special tricks to do and maintain your lean midsection while still having fun and doing normal things like eating out and drinking with your buddies. I show people how to cheat on their diets and still stay ripped. I would highly suggest you check out my website to get more tips and info so I could get you started in the right direction.

Tip #1: Control Your Liquid Calories

When we think about cutting the fat on our bellies, the first thing that comes to our mind is cutting down on solid food. But one thing that most guys don’t take into account is the amount of LIQUID calories they consume. These liquid calories are typically totally empty of nutrition, and they can really add up fast. If you’ve been trying to lose weight but haven’t been successful, liquid calories could be the reason why.

Think about it: a soda of the size typically served at restaurants has about 480 calories, all pure sugar.

And the average twelve ounce bottle of beer has about 160 calories. How easy is it to drink 5 or 6 beers without even thinking about it? That’s a huge amount of empty calories which go straight to your gut.

Before you even start worrying about changing what you’re eating, start paying attention to what you’re DRINKING. This means:

- Drinking tea, juice, water, or even diet soda in place of regular soda

- Replacing beer or sugary alcoholic drinks with healthier alternatives, such as a vodka tonic

- Avoiding excess consumption of sugary juices, even though they’re marketed as “healthy”

Tip #2: Boost Your Metabolism BEFORE Trying To Lose Weight

Another thing that will make weight loss MUCH easier for you is boosting your metabolism BEFORE you try and lose weight. If your metabolism is low, weight loss is going to be incredibly difficult. You’ll have to eat incredibly tiny portions of food every day, and even if you’re exercising all the time you will still have difficulty losing weight.

Your metabolism is the most important factor in your weight loss, bar none. An extremely hard cardio workout might burn 300 calories at the most but your metabolism will burn between 1500-3000 calories, EVERY SINGLE DAY, WHETHER YOU WORK OUT ON THAT DAY OR NOT.

It’s BY FAR the most important factor – you will easily burn 20x more calories through your metabolism than through exercise directly.

So you’re probably wondering, HOW do I boost my metabolism?

The best way to boost your metabolism is to gain lean body mass (muscle). This muscle will require energy every day to maintain itself, whether you work out on that day or not. This is what will jack your metabolism up, and make fat loss possible.

Back when I used to weight about 160 flabby pounds, I would eat about 1500 calories a day. It sucked – I felt like I was always starving, and I STILL didn’t lose any fat.

Now that I weigh 205 lbs. and I have much more muscle mass, I purposely eat over 3000 calories per day, EVERY DAY. I never gain any weight, because of my increased metabolism.

So if you want to lose weight, first focus on increasing your metabolism through building muscle.

Tip #3: Follow A Nutrition PLAN

Another huge mistake a lot of guys make is that they have no unified plan for their eating. They just try and follow whatever random tips they read off the internet whenever they remember them, and just hope things work out. The reality is, things never work out when you do them this way. If you don’t have a plan, then you’ll end up eating the wrong foods and you will just gain more fat on your stomach.

Because if you don’t have a definite plan — if you don’t know what you’re doing to eat that day in ADVANCE of when you actually eat it — you’ll have to make all your eating choices in the moment. And the only thing to keep you away from unhealthy food choices is going to be sheer willpower.

And let’s face it: NOBODY has very much willpower, and diets that rely on willpower inevitably fail. This is why 95% of people who “go on a diet” lose no weight, and actually GAIN weight beyond what they weighed originally.

But this isn’t to say things are hopeless — there are people who DO have the abs which come from great nutrition. The secret is, these people don’t have any more willpower than you. They just have a structured PLAN that determines what they eat, taking willpower out of the equation.

It is hard to avoid the triggers for our bad food cravings – we all experience stress and boredom and mood swings. But remaining a slave to these bad food cravings is not inevitable. We have found a way to minimize or eliminate the bad food cravings all together. Best of all, we have given up nothing and do not feel as if we are depriving ourselves of anything.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Start The Day Off Right

We’ve all heard the old stories about eating a good breakfast – but what does that really mean? The answer is different for each of us. Some people operate better when they eat some heavy carbs or protein in the morning and others, like Dan and I operate better when we start the morning off with juice and then gradually work our way up to the heavier foods as the day progresses. The important things is that what ever you put in your body in the morning, it should be healthy fuel for your body. A simple rule of thumb is to stick to food that is as close to nature as possible and pay attention to how you feel 20-30 minutes after you eat. If you feel sluggish and tired, that means that you either ate too much or it was the wrong type of food for your body.

You Do Not Have To Give Anything Up

One of the best ways we have found to start the day off right and eliminate bad food cravings later on?  We have a green juice or green smoothie for breakfast every single morning. That’s right. We invested in a juicing machine over a year ago and have been juicing ever since. We gave up nothing, but added healthful green foods through juicing. We did this every single morning and over the period of a few months, we just did not want to eat bad food any more. The best part: we didn’t intentionally plan on giving up our favorite bad food! Somehow, the effect of green juicing has reduced the craving for bad food. We just don’t seem to crave the ice cream and nachos anymore.  

Why Green Foods Reduce the Craving for Bad Foods

How can drinking a green juice or a green smoothie in the morning reduce the craving for bad food? We all know that green foods like spinach and kale are nutritionally dense. Juicing provides a huge amount of nutrients in one small delicious glass. It could be that the nutrients in green foods make us feel nutritionally satisfied. As a result, our bodies no longer constantly crave bad food for purposes of refueling. Starting off the day with a green juice or a green smoothie certainly seems to provide a steady source of energy over a longer period of time. We no longer experience the huge spikes in blood sugar levels followed by the devastating crash. As a result of drinking green foods, we have more energy to exercise and engage in the other projects we love. Drinking green foods helped us break the vicious cycle of desperate craving for bad food naturally and with very little effort.  Over time, the practice of juicing simply became a lifestyle habit that has made a huge positive difference in our lives.

You can click on “Resources” on our website for delicious recipes for green juice and green smoothies.

Try having a green juice or green smoothie every morning for 30 days and see how you feel! Let us know your experience with green foods.

Probably the most important consideration to remember when buying a juicer is that you are going to use your juicer every day or almost every day. Why? Because the enzyme activity in freshly extracted juice decreases very, very quickly. Ideally, it is best to drink your juice within 15 minutes of juicing. That way, you obtain the maximum vitamin, mineral and anti-oxidant properties that juicing can provide. Keeping in mind that you will want to use your juicer every day, here is a brief overview of what you want to look for when buying a juicer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Considerations When Buying A Juicer

The main consideration in buying a juicer is SIMPLE. Get something simple and convenient that you will actually use. The best juicer in the world will do you no good if it sits in the corner gathering dust. You do not want a juicer that is too complicated, cumbersome, or requires time-consuming clean-up. You are looking for ease of assembly, minimal chopping of fruits and vegetables, and easy clean-up. Make sure you buy a juicer that fits into your lifestyle – and fits into your kitchen.  A gargantuan juicer with dozens of parts that need to be scrubbed and oiled daily does not promote ease of use. Pick a juicer that can be disassembled easily and is dishwasher-safe. You will also want a juicer with a large enough mouth to accomodate fruits and vegetables.

Another consideration in choosing a juicer is noise level. Basically, the more powerful the motor, the more noisy a juicer will be.  Unless your goal is to wake up the entire household with your 6 a.m. juicing, choosing a less powerful juicer will probably more than adequately meet your juicing needs and your housemates will thank you for not turning their living space into what sounds like a demolition site.

Of course, price is an important consideration in buying a juicer. Prices of juicers vary widely – from under $100 to over $500 and higher – depending on the available features. To start out, choose a juicer that is affordable for you. And make sure you read the warranty! Warranties can range from a few months to a decade to a lifetime. You are looking for a long-lasting warranty that covers the entire machine.

Below are a few examples of some popluar juicers and their features to help give you an idea of what is on the market today:

Breville Juicer Juice Fountain

The Breville Juice Fountain Professional is the juicer we have used for about a year.  It is simple – easy to use and easy to clean. The juicer is designed to conserve counterspace. It has a large mouth that accomodates larger fruits and vegetables. We paid about $150 for our Breville Juicer Juice Fountain, but you can find one on the internet for $109 plus free shipping.  It has a powerful motor and comes with a one-year warranty.

Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Express

Jack LaLanne is perhaps the world’s most famous body builder. He is is over 95 years old and credits exercise and juicing as the key to his long life.  Jack LaLanne has been selling his juicers for years on television and on the internet. We found a “Buy One Get One Free” offer on his website: buy one Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Express for $89.97 and get the second free with additional shipping and handling. This juicer looks very compact and the motor is less powerful than the Breville juicer. The parts are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. It comes with a 60-day money back guaranty. According to the website, the “whisper quiet” motor comes with a lifetime warranty.

Omega Vert

The Omega Vert has the highest price tag of the three juicers we looked at. At $349, the Omega Vert has an electric induction motor and fewer moving parts than most juicers. In theory, this means the motor is less likely to burn out than other juicers. The Omega Vert has been built the same way for the past several decades, seemingly attesting to its quality design. The Omega Vert has a self-cleaning feature using water that keeps the juicer from becoming clogged. It comes with a 10-year warranty on the blade parts.

A good way to check out a variety of juicers is to view instructional videos on the internet. This way you can compare different juicers side by side.

Again, the one we use is the Breville Juice Fountain Professional. It works fine and cleanup is easy, so we recommend it.

We all know we should eat more fruits and vegetables. But most people have neither the time nor the desire to eat plates and plates of fruits and vegetables everyday! 

Juicing is a simple way to get all the benefits from a variety of fruits and vegetables in one small, delicious glass.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What Is Juicing?

Juicing is extracting the good stuff – the vitamins, minerals, nutrients and water – from plants using a juicing machine.  

The benefits of juicing are almost too numerous to list. Below are just some great reasons to juice:

• Juicing at home is relatively cost-effective. Instead of paying over $4 for a small bottle of juice at a health food store, once you have purchased your juicer, you can juice your own healthful blends for just pennies a serving. 
• Juicing is an excellent way to get the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The USDA currently recommends five cups of fruits and vegetables daily for a 2200 calorie diet (the average man’s diet), and four cups daily for a 1800 calorie diet (the average woman’s diet.) 
• Juicing enables you to obtain the vitamins, minerals and nutrients required for optimal health, vitality and functioning.  Fruits and vegetables have long been known to prevent and cure certain diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, allergies and certain mood disorders. 
• Eating freshly juiced raw fruits and vegetables allows you to digest and absorb a greater amount of beneficial nutrients. The juicing process breaks down cell walls for faster digestion, and  nutrients are not destroyed by heat or other processing. 
• Anti-oxidants contained in fruits and vegetables have an anti-aging effect for younger looking skin, hair and nails. 
• Eating a greater proportion of fruits and vegetables every day helps you lose those love handles and maintain a healthy weight.  
• Juicing is a fun and creative way to do something good for yourself and your family. You can go even greener by planting a garden and picking your favorite fresh and organic fruits and vegetables everyday!

Open Your Own Juice Bar Today

Literally hundreds of different fruit and vegetable juices are possible. In practice, the number and type of juice combinations are only limited by your own preferences. The one rule of thumb: only blend fruits with fruits and vegetables with vegetables. The exception to the rule is that you can blend apples with vegetables. Apples are sweet and taste great with vegetables. (Pushing an apple through the juicer also helps to push through a softer fruit or vegetable that may not have completely cleared the machine.)  You do want to thoroughly wash your hands and all fruits and vegetables prior to juicing. Remove any stems, pits and seeds. Orange rinds are nasty tasting, so remove those, too. Cut larger fruits and vegetables into chunks that your juicer can easily accomodate.   

A delicious tasting, simple base recipe is to juice one medium apple with two medium carrots. You can experiment with just about any fruit or vegetable you like. Green vegetables like kale and spinach can be bitter, so add those sparingly at first until you have acquired the taste. Parsley, garlic and ginger are more exotic flavors you can add when you’re feeling a little more daring. Keep watching our videos for some of our favorite juicing recipes. 

Try this experiment:  try juicing by drinking one glass of fresh juice a day for 30 days, and see how much better you feel! 

Important Note: you should consult with your doctor before embarking on your juicing journey.

There it is. That’s the solution to the big mystery. Sure, there are plenty of circumstances that get in the way of people getting into shape, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are no hurdles that can’t be leaped if the motivation level is high enough. Think of what happens when someone has a heart attack or a stroke, and you’ll see this concept in full effect. THEN they are suddenly very motivated.

I don’t believe in waiting until I almost die to take action and start living a better life. However, that’s just me, and I realize that some other people need more motivation than that. That being said, I have gone back to my personal training roots and put together a program that uses two of the most powerful motivators ever – money and recognition.

The Million Dollar Body Challenge is a 90-day group coaching initiative where you, dear reader, get to take part in a health coaching program that not only includes plenty of incredible information from a qualified teacher, but that also gives you the chance for as much cash and recognition as you can handle!

There are a ton of great benefits to the program, which kicks off on May 1st, 2008, but here are some of the highlights:

• Cash and prizes worth up to $1,000 awarded every day just for working out
• Up to $10,000 awarded once a month to people who make the most progress
• A $250,000 cash prize given annually to a male and a female who truly excel
• Countless online resources and almost limitless content from fitness trainers and experts
• Free teleconferences every single week
• Email access to me as your coach for the entire 90-day period
• Free copies of Today is that Day fitness products
• Free lifetime Premium memberships at Personal Development Partners where challengers will be able to discuss their progress

And that’s just a quick overview. If you want the real scoop – and if you are truly ready to make some positive changes in your health – then click below to get started! This program will fill up quickly, and I will have to close it to new members at that point.

Sign up now to get access to all of the materials and the support that you need, and start getting yourself on track. Once May 1st hits, we are going to take off like a rocket, and you won’t believe the physical change that the group participants will undergo!

What is going to be different this year than all of the other years?

Most people who try to lose weight at the start of a new year have tried to do it many times in the past, and I submit to you that an effective weight loss program for the new year needs to start with losing the mental baggage first!

The specific details of how to lose weight have been known for decades, yet people still seem to think that the answer to long-term weight loss lies in a new diet, a special exercise program, or in some magical cream, pill, or quality time with a cosmetic surgeon.

The bottom line, however, is that excess bodyfat is not a condition in and of itself, but rather the result of faulty mental programming, and the faulty habits that come about as a result of that programming.

Yes, there are physical and genetic characteristics that affect someone’s physical appearance, but there are very few physical or genetic conditions that can actually keep someone from a high level of physical fitness if they truly want to be healthy.

The reason why most people can’t lose weight or keep the weight off over the long-term is because they either don’t truly believe that it is possible for them, they don’t truly believe that they are worthy of that level of physical grace, or, they are just plain too lazy to do what it takes.

Each of those circumstances can be rectified on the inside, however. The diet or exercise programs that assist with the actual weight loss will then just become conditions of that proper mental programming.

If you truly want to lose weight as part of your New Year’s resolutions this year, put down the diet books, don’t even buy the latest copy of your favorite fitness magazine, and certainly don’t go to your doctor asking for a prescription weight loss drug. Instead ask yourself these types of questions:

• Do I truly believe that it is possible for ME to lose the weight? Don’t ask yourself if people in general can lose weight, ask yourself if you truly believe that YOU can lose the weight.
• Do I truly believe that I can be as pretty/sexy/slim/hot/attractive as I want to be? Again, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. Lying to yourself about what you truly believe is possible will just set you up to be having this same conversation at this same time next year.
• Do I truly believe that I am worthy of the type of attention or lifestyle that will come about as a result of me losing the weight? Think about the average celebrity. Yes, they have the looks, the fame, and the fortune, but they also can’t even walk into a 7-11 to buy a cup of coffee without it being a media frenzy. Are you prepared to live the actual lifestyle of someone who is healthy and in great shape?

These types of questions are just examples, and you have probably already begun to think of similar questions that apply to your own lifestyle. Don’t push those questions away as irrelevant while you instead go looking for the next “miracle weight loss cure”.

Your ability to lose weight in the New Year is all in your head. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a straight-up liar; I don’t care how many credentials they have behind their name, or how many testimonials they have on their website.

Related Content:

• Mental Meltdown: Weight Loss begins in the Mind!
• Top 5 New Year’s Resolution Weight Loss Programs
• 6 Tips on How to Use the Internet to Lose Weight
• How to Save Money on Exercise Equipment

The purpose is to revisit recent popular posts from right here on this site, as well as to give readers a chance to see the material that I have written across the blogosphere at other websites. Enjoy!

• Learn How to Exercise with The Workout Pass Network
• Exercise of the Day – 8-Count Bodybuilders
• How to Increase your Cardiovascular Endurance with Cross Training

• Employees Losing Money because they are Unhealthy!

• 5 Personal Growth Lessons Learned while House Sitting
• 8 Tips on How to Get Out of Bed even When You Don’t Want To

Have a blog that you would like me to write for? Shoot me an email and we’ll see if my skills match up with your audience!

The purpose is to revisit recent popular posts from right here on this site, as well as to give readers a chance to see the material that I have written across the blogosphere at other websites. Enjoy!

• 7 Simple Tips on How to Workout at Home
• Exercise of the Day – Crunches on an Exercise Ball
• 5 Guaranteed tips on How to Lose Weight for a Class Reunion

• Soliciting Sex Lands 3 Men in Chicken Suits

• Nice work, Einstein. Think you can do it again?
• 10 Things you Can’t do with the Law of Attraction

Have a blog that you would like me to write for? Shoot me an email and we’ll see if my skills match up with your audience!

The purpose is to revisit recent popular posts from right here on this blog, as well as to give readers a chance to see the material that I have written across the blogosphere at other websites. Enjoy!

• Break down the Carbohydrate Energy Barrier for Maximum Fat Loss!
• How to do Effective Abdominal Exercises

• Lauren Jones: From Bikini Model to Newscaster on Reality Show

• Self Improvement and Motivation – Are You Angry Enough?
• 5 Free Personal Development Ideas for Keeping your Mental Pool Clean!

Have a blog that you would like me to write for? Shoot me an email and we’ll see if my skills match up with your audience!